Ariane 5 ECA Rocket

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Ariane 5 is, as a part of Ariane rocket family, an expendable launch system used to deliver payloads into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) or low Earth orbit (LEO). Ariane 5 rockets are manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Astrium, an EADS company, is the prime contractor for the vehicles, leading a consortium of sub-contractors. Ariane 5 is operated and marketed by Arianespace as part of the Ariane programme. Astrium builds the rockets in Europe and Arianespace launches them from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.

Ariane 5 succeeded Ariane 4, but was not derived from it directly. Ariane 5 has been refined since the first launch in successive versions, 'G', 'G+', 'GS', 'ECA', and most recently, 'ES'. European Space Agency originally designed Ariane 5 to launch the manned mini shuttle Hermes, and thus intended it to be 'human rated' from the beginning.

Two satellites can be mounted using a SYLDA carrier (SYstème de Lancement Double Ariane). Three main satellites are possible depending on size using SPELTRA (Structure Porteuse Externe Lancement TRiple Ariane). Up to eight secondary payloads, usually small experiment packages or minisatellites, can be carried with an ASAP (Ariane Structure for Auxiliary Payloads) platform.

By mid-2007, Arianespace has ordered a total of 99 Ariane 5 launchers from Astrium. The first batch ordered in 1995 consisted of 14 launchers, while the second—P2—batch ordered in 1999 consisted of 20 launchers. A third—PA—batch consisting of 25 ECA and 5 ES launchers was ordered in 2004. The latest batch ordered in mid-2007 consist of another 35 ECA launchers.Through these orders, the Ariane 5 will be the workhorse of Arianespace at least through 2015.

Modeling Information

This rocket contains all the external features, and most of the interior parts. This version of the Ariane has a single satellite, the Jules Verne, while other variants can have up to three smaller satellites. The satellite included is a place holder with medium detail. The fuel tanks, second stage assembly, fuel lines are properly placed and sized correctly.

The level of detail is high to moderate, with very dense polygons for very smooth 3d printing or rendering results.

Mapping

The mapping for this rocket are 4000 x 4000 pixel maps, and cover various parts of the rocket. Each map is named according to its body part, for example, 'nose' on the 3d model uses 'nose.jpg' for mapping. All of the maps are contained within the file maps.zip.